News

Logos that indicate food quality or that certain guidelines have been adhered to are everywhere nowadays. From the lion mark on eggs to the Soil Association Organic Standard and the Golden Turkey, the logos are all there to give us an immediate indication that the products meet the standards laid down by that particular organisation.

In this case RSPCA assured, previously Freedom Food is a UK mark dedicated to farm animal welfare. The RSPCA assured vision is for ‘all farm animals to have a good life and to be treated with compassion and respect’. It also ensures that products are fully traceable from the point of purchase back to the farm.

Those carrying the mark have been assessed based on the RSPCA’s farm animal
welfare standards laid out by a team of scientific officers and is based on research and consultation with vets and industry experts.

Using pigs as an example, RSPCA Assured guidelines bans the use of farrowing crates and surgical castration as well as stating that pigs should be provided with amongst other things bedding and environmental enrichment throughout their life.

Grassroots Wholesale Foods are one of the UK’s fastest growing UK wholesale meat suppliers, supplying meat to retail, foodservice, restaurants and the catering trade. Our roots are in traditional farming and butchery and this ethos is still core to what we do, especially when selecting suppliers. All of the pork we supply to HelloFresh through our Roaming Roosters brand is from RSPCA Assured farms.

Please contact us if you would like to discuss the supply of wholesale beef, wholesale chicken, wholesale, pork or wholesale lamb. We also offer fixed weight meat production, product development, packaging and delivery.

Free range poultry suppliers have welcomed the news that the restrictions put in place, following the recent outbreak of bird flu, have been lifted today in the areas deemed as ‘higher risk’.

The rules enforced since the end of 2016, has meant that free range poultry has had to be kept enclosed in netting or housed to protect it from Avian influenza.

It is now felt that the risk has reduced enough to lift the restrictions, due in part to a decrease in the number of wild birds who spend the winter in the UK but have now left. The message however is that bird and poultry keepers should still remain vigilant and continue to observe the disease prevention measures aimed at reducing the risks of contamination.

Grassroots is one of the UK’s fastest growing wholesale meat suppliers. We supply wholesale meat including bulk chicken and poultry to restaurants and retailers across Britain including packaging, labeling and delivery.

Since Jamie Oliver came out and suggested people should eat retired dairy cows, it’s created mainstream awareness on an area of beef production that some ‘in the know’ people have been talking about for a while.

Just like the rise in popularity of Mutton due to its intense flavour, dairy beef is developing its own fan base with several notable chefs and restaurants in the UK championing its use as an alternative to your everyday beef cuts.

Following the BSE crisis in the late 80s, most cattle in the UK are slaughtered before they reach 30 months old and the more intensively reared are almost solely fed on diets of foods such as corn or soy. Dairy cows on the other hand spend up to 5 years roaming the pastures, grazing on grass and other natural products. They tend to be healthier but historically have been used for lower cost meat such as mince once their milking days are over.

What most people don’t know is that the Spanish, particularly the Basque region, have been eating older meat for generations. Some of this beef is from retired dairy herds who are then left out for 4-5 years after their useful milking life has finished to fatten up and develop the meat quality.

The dairy meat flavour is deep, full-bodied and has a natural marbling
which adds a sweetness to the beef. The fat is also more evenly distributed
through the meat than you sometimes get from grain fed animals due to the
slower growth.

At Grassroots Wholesale Foods, we have been experimenting with UK dairy beef, testing different ageing lengths and methods to get the perfect product. The dry ageing process breaks down the fibres in the meat which is tougher in these older cows due to the amount of work the muscles have had to do over their lifespan.

Grassroots is one of the UK’s fastest growing Wholesale Meat Suppliers and provides cost-effective, quality meats to restaurants and retailers across the UK. We can also package and label products based on your requirements and even work with you to develop products for market. See our full range of wholesale meat including beef, pork, lamb, chicken and poultry.

If you’re looking for a new wholesale meat supplier or would like to discuss dairy beef or our range, please contact us on 01282 508020 or email info@grasssrootsfoods.co.uk